Garmin nuvi 205 3 5 Inch Portable GPS Navigator

January 7, 2009 by GPS Reviews
Filed under Gps Navigator

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Not all changes are improvements
I’ve had the Nuvi 205 for about six weeks and use it several times a week. I also have a Nuvi 200 that I’ve owned for a little more than a year. I opted to buy the new 205 instead of upgrading the maps in the 200 because the 205 was available for only $118. Since I have both units, this will be something of a comparison review.

For the most part I like the Garmin interface, and they’ve made a few improvements in the 205. The speed limit information is very handy, and it’s nice that the zoom in/out “buttons” are now placed next to each other. I love having a constant display of the street I am currently on. It also finds satellites faster than does the Nuvi 200.

The Garmin literature touts the 205’s new faster processor as being able to redraw the map more smoothly. This appears to be true, but this also appears to be a case of technology for technology’s sake, and it has actually made the unit more difficult to use. This applies primarily to situations where a destination has been entered. Anytime the car approaches a turn along the calculated route, the display begins to zoom in, presumably in order to show more detail. Unfortunately the zooming is done in such a way that the upcoming turn remains at a fixed distance out ahead of the current position (on the screen). It almost appears as though the car has stopped moving, especially when there are few details on the map to provide a visual cue that the display is zooming. Once the zooming in stops, the map rapidly rushes by. When I first used the 205 I missed several turns because I thought I wasn’t very close to the intersection and then suddenly the intersection was behind me. Even now that I’ve grown accustomed to it, I still find myself double checking the map with the distance-until-turn reading. I never had to do this with the Nuvi 200.

Other nit-picks

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* The Nuvi 205 gets lost more often when I’m downtown. The buildings seem to confuse it whereas the 200 has no problem.

* The rerouting is sometimes baffling after I’ve missed a turn. It once sent me two miles along a couple of roads to turn around in a driveway and then retrace my route. I don’t know if this is the case with the 200 because I didn’t miss turns with it.

* The LCD display is not as good as the Nuvi 200’s with lower contrast and viewing angles.

* Battery life is not as good as the Nuvi 200’s.

* It does not display the compass heading when following a calculated route. It displays the current speed instead. Every car has a speedometer, but not that many have compasses. I really don’t need validation of my speed, but I would like to know my current direction.

* Searching the POI database is often so slow that it’s unusable. This is not new to the 205. As an example, yesterday I had some extra time after running an errand and wanted to find a Toyota dealer to look at a new car. There are quite a few Toyota dealers in KC, but I didn’t know what dealers were in the immediate area, so I just entered ‘Toyota’. After five minutes it had returned no results.

My feedback to Garmin:

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* When displaying turns on calculated routes, just zoom in once or twice when approaching a turn rather than in a longer continuous zoom that sometimes makes it appear that the vehicle is not getting closer to the upcoming turn.

* Use a better LCD screen.

* Improve the POI searching or make more categories.

* When displaying a calculated route, make the bottom left button/readout user configurable. It currently displays the speed, and when you touch that area of the screen it displays all sorts of navigation info (including the compass heading). The user should be able to touch any item on that screen and have that be the new value displayed in the lower left corner of the main screen.

5 Stars Small, Simple, Powerful
This is a perfect GPS - EXTREMELY EASY TO USE, accurate, powerful database, bright screen, small, slim, rechargable battery built-in. This is probably the best GPS period. The more expensive GPS units have all this stuff most people don’t need (MP3 player, etc.) but if it’s navigation you need, this thing is it. It’s hard to believe you can get this amount of technology for such a great price. I can’t say enough about this unit.

I already have an iPhone (1st gen). It does everything I need since it has an iPod, photo viewer, Internet browsing, and it has Google Maps. However the 1st gen iPhone does not include true GPS technology. It only can approximate your position based on cell tower (and wifi hotspot) locations. The 2nd gen iPhone (plastic case) has a true GPS chip built-in that integrates with Google Maps, but the GPS functionality EATS the battery when you’re using it. I just needed a GPS to complement my iPhone when I’m on the road. This unit is perfect.

I also have a Honda Element, and it’s difficult to find a good spot to mount a GPS without blocking the view. This unit is small and it’s suction cup mount is so low-profile that it was easy to find a spot on the dash just to the right of the steering wheel to mount it. I thought I might want the larger 205W widescreen, but I’m glad I have the smaller screen since it keeps the unit small but there’s still plenty of map area.

I was surprised at how accurate the Garmin units are, and with their 3d maps with smooth scrolling, they provide a superior navigation experience. The screen is extremely bright and here in the Northwest where there’s very little sun, I keep the brightness at 10% and I get over 4 hours of battery life. The speaker is very loud too, if you need it.

The only drawback is that the unit doesn’t come with an AC charger nor a USB cable for updating your maps via computer. But it does come with a DC car charger. The documentation was sparse, but after playing with the unit for about 30 minutes, I figured out all the ways you can get to the different options and views. The touchscreen is not that sensitive, so you have to give a little extra push with your finger. These are all minor inconveniences given the power and simplicity this unit delivers.

Garmin definitely has studied how people use a GPS and have designed clear screens, simple controls, and useful options. For example, there’s a “Car” versus “Walking” mode. Also, the screen background turns a dark blue at night so that the screen isn’t glaring in your eyes. If you’re using the unit plugged-in via the car charger, the unit turns on and off automatically with your car. That may seem obvious until you realize you can also simply run the unit via it’s rechargable battery, and if you don’t turn it off manually, it stays on until the batter runs out (useful for hiking/biking, etc.). I thought these were all nice design touches that shows that Garmin knows their users and translated that into a nice product.

5 Stars Very Pleased!!!
This Nuvi is a great buy for the money! There is a “home” button, where you assign your home location. You can also program and store other addresses in your favorites. In addition to programming the address, you can also designate a location to your address book by pressing the button “this location”, which will automatically program the GPS coordinates for you without having to type the address. I use this Nuvi even when I know where I’m going, because two other features I like and use are the estimated time of arrival at destination (on the lower right) and the car speed and speed limit notifications (on the lower left). The GPS displays the speed limit zone you’re in, so you don’t have to wait to see the next speed limit sign, and the speed of the car notification compares the speed you’re traveling to the posted speed limit, which is great for me since my car doesn’t have cruise control. I love it!!

5 Stars BEST GPS E V E R!!!!!
This GPS is the most amazing GPS ever! As my first one, I am VERY impressed. I recently went on vacation and forgot to take it out of my vehicle, and it was stolen along with the window being broken. Sad. I bought another one because I am just so happy with my first purchase, but I HAVE TO WARN YOU please take any and all pieces of the GPS OUT OF THE VEHICLE!! GPS are #1 theft’s in America as of today. Even if you have the suction piece on the windshield, they will find it…if you have your charger out, ALSO if you dont wipe off the suction cup residue after the GPS has been removed from the vehicle, they will think it’s in there and go looking..so be careful! Wonderful product..too many great things to even say! BUY IT! WORTH THE MONEY!

5 Stars Handi Item
I had thought of buying a GPS before, but my travels didn’t justify the purchase. I received this Garmin 205 as a gift. I was a bit worried that it might be more trouble than it was worth. Trouble as in too technical for my feeble mind, but it is not. It is very simple to navigate the screens, and after a couple of bumbling moments on my part, I got it pretty much down. At least for my use.

Turn it on, press favorites or points of interest. A list of subjects come up–Food_banks-transportation etc. Touch say–Food. A list comes up like ALL FOOD–FAST FOOD–BBQ–etc- touch that and it will bring up a long list of places from the cosest to the more distant. Touch the one you want and then GO, and it directs you turn by turn. If you try a different way, it say “RECALCULATING” and directs you from that point. Or go to ADDRESSES, and type in the address. It directs you through this, then GO and you are set. To return home, Press HOME and you are told turns and such. It does not verbalize street names, but they are shown on screen.

They exact distance (proceed .3 miles and turn left) may be off a bit, and change as it is updated, but this is minor and you can see where you are easily.

Or you can touch MAPS and see where you are on screen.

More expensive models do a few more things, but this will do nicely for most folks without getting overly complicated.

You can go online and get different cars, or different voices. I found the one standard okay for me. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” It also offers other doodads if you want. I don’t want.(I have had a cell phone for two years and have used 41 minutes so far) This does it’s intended purpose well. I like it. You can adjust the volume, or turn it off.

This device along with a little forethought can be very handi.

I can’t say it is better or worse than thew competition, I can only say I am happy with it so far. Dan